With a new director and a renewed commitment to economic growth, the Nature Coast Business Development Council is ready for a big year.
The NCBDC has hired Dave Pieklik as the executive director of its 10-member board. He will also oversee the Levy County Enterprise Zone Development Agency.
Pieklik, 34, had been working the last four years for the City of Inverness, in Citrus County, as a special events and programs assistant director. He also has extensive experience in print and broadcast journalism.

The annual Champions of Freedom Appreciation Luncheon at the Tommy Usher Center in Cheifland was a wonderful success. The guest speaker was Lieutenant Colonel (US Army, Ret.) William Halker. In his military career, Lieutenant Colonel Halker specialized in military intelligence operations and is the recipient of numerous awards and decorations.

The Levy County Department of Public Safety is inviting the public to stop by on Friday and Saturday to check out the College of Central Florida's new Mobile Simulator Lab during its visit to the Emergency Operations Center on County Road 32 in Bronson. The lab will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

With no discussion on the matter, Chiefland City commissioners voted 4-0 Monday night to allow the Ten Commandments monument placed in front of City Hall to be removed by its owner so that it can tour the state.

Levy County Sheriff's Lt. Zachary Knight, 38, has been suspended without pay following his arrest in Chiefland on Friday on charges of armed sexual battery, false imprisonment, and aggravated assault and tampering with a victim, according to a Sheriff's Office press release.

The Florida Department of Lawe Enforcement arrested Knight following an investigation that was referred by the Sheriff's Office following a complaint.

Splitting the bill with Gilchrist
The Levy County Commission, which shares the cost for a joint Guardian ad litem program office in Chiefland with Gilchrist County, approved splitting the bills on more items for the office.
Last year the county approved paying 60 percent of the bills for the office because it generated 60 percent of the cases. Earlier this year the commission approved a 70-30 split after the number of Gilchrist cases dropped.

Special to the Citizen
Not many people live through the experience of having oral cancer, but Rick Bender did. He now spends his life educating people about smokeless tobacco and his experience in an effort to reach people with a valuable prevention message.
The Levy Coalition Against Tobacco will host Bender on a tour of local schools and a public presentation on Tuesday, Nov. 15.